Todays freegan payload

2, 4x8' sheets of 2" pinkboard, split in half, saved from the dumpster.


Mold makers supplies for me. How timely.



DG

Tour to Boone Race Metric

Squirrel's ride to race rig.


The OHV1 loaded.


80lbs of bike + 50lbs of camp gear + 27lb race bike + 40x18 on the Xtra = just right for the flat gravels. The bike has officially passed the load test.


No, I didn't use the motor at all during the metric. Yes I did use it to get into Boone and back into 7 Oaks after the metric was earned.


I managed to whack myself in the foot with a mcloud Saturday doing trailwork, left a cool lookin' square bruise. Sat around with the "Boone fishing council" in the afternoon. And completely lost my mojoe when the the race rolled around Sunday. Way too hot, with way too little time on dirt, and way too little time at XC race pace, equals just try to survive without passing out or crashing out deep in the woods. The North shore bridges, once more extended climbs, and water saturated hillsides made for some interesting slow speed tech for me anyways. Too bad I was melting.
I'm ready for winter, at least I can dress for that.

DG

Test Run

Two days on an 80lb bike, with an additional 40lbs of gear, 200miles from my house to Sugar Bottoms and back via random gravel and pave.


For my own organizing purposes, here's the gear list:

On the right side of the bike: Luxury Thermarest, a ziplock with a few books, and a Seal line bag containing a sleeping bag, blanket, towel, and casual shorts.

On the left side of the bike: Bibler tent in the red granite gear bag, poles and vestibule in the skinny black bag, purple granite gear bag contains three ziplocks with two pairs of riding shorts, three lightweight SS shirts, one LW LS Smartwool, arm and legwarmers, wool gloves, 3pairs of socks of varying weights, and the legs of the Northface convertable pants I'm wearing. (note to self, remember spare underwear). Small Wingnut bag with MSR cookpan, 2bowls, 6packs of oatmeal, silverware, washcloth, hankerchief, hand crank battery cell, USB cord, tent stakes, IB profin, band aids, spare contacts, contacts case, and solution. MSR dragonfly stove, hat, Rainlegs, and raincoat.

MSR fuel bottle with white gas for stove went in the rearmost waterbottle cage, Nightrider bottle battery in the front frame cage, and I started with three waterbottles, one in the rear frame cage, and one on each side of the front fork(works good!). I ended up with another MSR bottle for gasoline in the rear frame cage and another strapped to the luggage on the right side, and one of the water bottles tucked under a strap.

Wingnut pack on my back had 50oz of water, sunblock, 2 NUUN capsules, Hammerflask, cellphone, camera, lip balm, wallet, hankerchief, Gerber Cool Tool, scissors, headlamp, zipties, ziplock bags, windvest, matchs, IB Profin, bandaids, patch kit, 2 Snickers Charged, 1 toe strap, small roll of duct tape, a whole bunch of reflective ankle straps, and an empty soap box I picked up in IA city(another note to self, bring soap).

Also on the bike, Garmin 305 GPS, cable lock, 2 tubes, pump, more zipties, another scissors, another microtool, Planet Bike superflash, SMV sign, and a bunch of thought provoking stickers.

I thought about leaving the Wingnut pack home, but I'm used to it and it's a handy place to keep your camera/cellphone/wallet/lipbalm/sunscreen/food/soapbox? OK the soap box goes in the Wingnut accesory bag with all the other incidentals next time around. I could have done without duplicating tools between the pack and the bike, but the tools in the pack stay in the pack, and the tools in the bike well...maybe I'll take the tools out of the bike if I always wear the pack, eh?

Other future changes:
I've got about a 40% chance of waking up without a back ache with the best of the Thermarest pads, so I'm planning on switching to a Luxurylite Cot. I've heard nothing but good things about these. Another Seal line bag would make this rig weatherproof, and help keep the gravel dust at bay. I've got a Big Dummy frame on order(just like everybody else). Nuvinci CVT is ordered, hopefully it beats the frame here. I should have some Reelights, and an AXA lock to play with by the end of the week. At some point I'm going to invest in another Schmidt SON28(S this time) and an EDeluxe to fill out the lighting demands. I think I'll order two more pair of these, carry my second pair North face convertable pants, and ditch the riding shorts. Wool base + nylon shell + leather Selle An Atomica saddle = perfect touring setup. No clammy, smelly, riding shorts. Dries super fast, and you don't have to feel like a lycra clad superhero everywhere you ride. Need a couple more LW SS wool shirts, and my shipment of Swiftwicks are on their way now. Maybe some Keen clipless sandals, and a Garmin 705. Retrogrouch you say? I'm riding a SS motorized gravel touring Xtracycle with a 5"fork...right. And I happen to think Rivendell, Velo Orange, Clever Cycles, and Peter White are getting it right, thank you.

The bike handles quite a bit different with the extra 40lbs on the back. Standing and climbing is much more wiggly(Still worlds better than any trailer or even full racks on a touring steed). I had some issues with gear pushing against my fender stays, making the fender rub the rear tire. A dedicated Xtracycle frame like the Surly Big Dummy would address both these issues. The WTB 26x2.55" Weirwolf LTs are the perfect tire for this thing, and they just barely fit under the Planet Bike Cascadia fenders, but it's a worthwhile combination. Rumbles, can't even feel'em. Pothole, where? Run off the road, vagrant gravel, no problem. With the help of the motor I managed all the hills, including getting into and out of Sugar Bottoms(twice) on a 40x16 gear without resorting to dismounting and pushing. On a couple of occasions while fully loaded I did get it to slip the chain on the Surly cog on the rear freewheel. The Surly cogs tooth profile is a little pointy for my taste, and I'd make a cog for it, but I'm really hoping to be replacing that wheel with a Nuvinci wheel within the next two weeks. I found that even though I've got a motor helping me wrestle this beast down the road, my legs are still smoked from trying to keep my spin up over 90rpm for 200miles. Gears will be a whole nuther ball game, and I'm looking forward to it. The Staton gear to gear, gear reduction is super stout, and I'm sure it'll last forever, but it sure is noisy. Next go around will be a two or three stage Gates timing belt gear reduction, and full belt drivetrain fully enclosed. The chains have alot to be desired. Belts will be a load quieter, more efficient, cleaner, and less maintainence. Fairing will be played with after I get gears figured out on OHV1. Big Dumb Pugsley after Big Dumb Motorbike V2.

DG

More refined product. Runs 28mph as a singlespeed, gears will help. 50cents fills er' up. Hilarious.


This might be the next step.

DG

Organic hybrid V1

Part of my solution. A few bugs to work out yet, but ultimately a huge step in the right direction for my circumstances.

More pics here.

DG

Greed is a form of terrorism

I'll preface this by stating that I am a gearhead. I've been raised with a love/hate relationship with the automobile. I've ridden bicycles for as long as I can remember. There were always pedals under my feet as a child, but my family was not one of active athletes. They are a family of gearheads and farmers. Do-it-yourself-er work-a-holics.
I resisted the thought of driving till highschool, really wasn't interested. My first vehicle was a 1966 microbus with a 30hp 1200cc motor that got 25mpg and topped out at about 50mph in 30seconds from a dead stop. From there was a 1600cc 90hp 1986 Jetta turbodiesel that gets 45mpg and tops out at 70mph in 20seconds. Then a 1979 VW combi van that was slightly faster after fighting months of repair to the fuel injection and then sold. A 1989 VW Fox that bought for $100 and completely rebuilt for 50 times the purchase price, for 35mpg at 135hp in a car I truely don't fit in. And then a 2002 Subaru WRX wagon that gets up to 30mpg at 225hp and has nearly cost me my license three times now.

I still own all these cars minus the 79 van, plus I have a 74 VW 411, an 89 VW Syncro van that are not yet running, and a shed with enough parts to assemble at least five VW Beetles. I have rebuilt and modified every one of my cars at one point or another. A couple of them multiple times. I used to have VW parts numbers memorized. I could tell the year and model of the car by reading its serial number, and tell you about all of its various versions and options.
I drive on average 50,000miles a year between my 60mile round trip commute to 5days a week to work, 90mile round trip twice weekly for training, and 300-15,000 mile round trips to various bicycle race venues. I enjoy driving fast and have become a reasonably competent driver, if not for the speeding violations. But, at the same time I hate it. I spend a third of my time and annual income driving. The most dangerous part of my life is the drowsey morning commute. My driving is contributing to the destruction of the planet and something has to change, not only for my sake, but for everyones.


Think about it. How much fuel do you burn every year? How much do you spend on the automotive experience annually? That includes: cost of fuel, insurance, tax/title/license, maintainance/repair, accessories, parking, toll fees, and the cost of purchasing the car for the duration you own it. What percentage of you annual income does that come out to be? Do you buy new? Why? Do you drive an SUV or truck? Why? Do you drive distances less than 5 miles, 10 miles, 15 miles? Why? More than 100miles? Why? Are there alternatives?


Now think of that car's carbon footprint and the environmental poisons that make up a car. Antifreeze, motor oil, brake fluid, power steering fluid, transmission fluid, AC freon, gasoline, battery, tires, pounds of glass, pounds of rubber, pounds of plastic, pounds of foam, pounds of steel, pounds of copper wiring, pounds computer chips, gallons of paint.


Think of the efficiency of your car. How often do you drive alone? How many horsepower does your car have? Why? What percentage of your car's weight is powering it's occupants weight vs powering its own weight? Do you think todays cars are more efficient than the cars built 10 years ago? 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70years ago? More reliable?


Fuel is close to $4.00/gallon. If the price of gas doubled would you keep driving? It already has. More than once. Are you still driving? Did you buy a hybrid? How does the carbon footprint of that hybrid compare to the carbon footprint of keeping your old car and doing maintainance?


How fast do you drive on the highways? Do you drive over the posted speed limit? How much more energy do you think it takes to go 70mph instead of 65mph? How much more energy does it take to from 0-60 in 7seconds compared to 12seconds? How much more wear on the car and all it's parts? How much more oil is burnt?


Where are the cars that get over 100mpg? How do they do that? Do you really need a car? Is there public transportation? Could you walk it? Bike it? Why not? Time? Money? Would you have more money if you didn't drive? Would you have more time if you didn't have to work more so you could afford to drive? Would you have to work if you didn't drive? Well, maybe so. Or not.

Possessions, wealth, work, why? Does it bring you happiness? Think about it. Would you be happier with more time or more money? What would you do with more time? Do you have a plan for retirement? Do you think you'll make it? Will you perish on your drive to work? Will your health hold out? Do you think the government will take care of you?


You drive to work for your Kids? Kids need toys right? What do they like better, the toy or the box it came in? Do you let them outside? Which is better TV or a book? Do you have time to read them a book or take them outside, or are you busy at work making money to pay for toys, TV, and the babysitter?


Food. We have to drive to work so we can feed ourselves. But you're too busy with work so you eat fast food. Are you concerned about what you're eating? Do you know what you're eating? Really? Even if you get it from the supermarket, do you know what you're really eating? Do you buy organic? Are you sure? Pay a premium for organic, so you have to work more. Could you grow organic yourself if you had more time? Would you rather have the knowledge of how to grow food and provide for yourself, or know the profit margine of the company you work for, what so-and-so did last night, the schedule of the TV guide, and the score of the football game? Would you like to have the knowledge of how to fix your food, plumbing, furnace, transportation, house? Build your own house or transportation. Do you have the time to learn? Would more money help? Does driving help?


Think global warming was a fad in the late 80's and early 90's? Have you seen An Inconvenient Truth? Everyone should. Think he's lying? Really? Al's a hypocrit? What are you doing to change? He who throws the first stone....


Well, I've got to go to work now.

DG

Fun with slippery rocks

Syllamo's Revenge. Mtn Veiw, AR.




Slimy, pointy, rooty, hairball, flowy. Quality time spent near and in streams, with the patch kit, next to the trail. Slowed a bit more for just a couple of pics. Should have took more. I'm a wringer, not a ringer. Good times.

DG

That was hard.

More if I recover.

Data.

Ok, I think I'm over the fever, so a few more details of my weekend and events leading up to it.

My goal for TIV4 was to make it to the start line, uninjured. I was registered for TI V1 and V3, V1 back and neck problems, V3 IT band re injury from the Sebring 24hour.
A week ago Sunday my work sent me to Apadaca, Mexico for um...work. Interesting, yes, an annoying speed bump in my TI prep, yes. They had me scheduled to fly back the Friday of TI. Nothing like a good dose of jet lag, a week off the bike, and a chance for a good case of food poisoning to get you tuned up, right? I finished up what I needed to do down there as soon as I could and managed to get them to fly me back on Wed. Get home to find my mom was sick with the flu all week, I find myself coughing and blowing my nose nonstop by Friday. Head to the chiropractor to fix what ails me{back was out before leaving for Mexico). Hop in the truck with my crew, banker Steve. Drive through a torrential rainstorm and damn near miss the race meeting as we walk in at 6:30(could have sworn the race meeting was to be at 7:30) Crap, pretty much missed the meet and greet, maybe there will be time for that later.
Finish the final preparations about 9:30-10:00 and try to sleep without suffocating in my own mucus. Wake up at 1:00am, 2:00am, 2:30am, and finally 3:00am when I set my alarm.

Dressed and out the door by 3:15. Multiple oatmeal raisin cookie breakfast.
Ride around in the dark cold not recognising anyone hanging around the start point, ride up in Palisades to warm up a bit and test the newly wired headlight. Light works. Roll back to the start to find Cornbread and Skip, and Fuller, at least I know a couple people here. And soon enough we roll out, up quarry hill. The group spreads out almost immediately, as expected I climb backwards through the group, a trend for the day on climbs. It levels out a bit and I'm happy to have a big ring, it puts me back up with Cory and Skip and the group that establishes itself as the chase group for most of the day. I find that my pace doesn't match up well with anyone Else's, I climb too slow and roll too fast. I manage to drop a chain or overshift a few times causing extra work to stay near the group. soon enough I'm off the back with a few others. The sleet/snow and winter temps are laughably familiar. At least it's dry. This wind is punishing already. Ice is to be found in bottles at Protivin, but then again so is the group. Stay in the draft as much as possible, I try to pull but I just don't have it. I stay till I'm stuck in the wind on the tail of the line or we hit a good climb and then I die again. Keep blowing nasty yellow crap out of my nose. Catch up on the downhills and the sheltered flats. Regroup again at Cresco, a few calories, a few more riders in the group. Off to make two wrong turns as a group. Confusing street signs and a visit to the river that was a low water crossing. Stuck in the wind again, float off the back. Ride with a SSer on a Soulcraft I'm sure I should know, but I can't place his name. He saved my ass and doesn't even know it. That wind. Catch up with Skip as he floats back. The wind breaks a little and I roll off using my gears for what I can. Roll into Waucoma. Regroup once more. Another rider off the front joins, weary from the lead group's pace. The wind is crazy, blowing up gravel dust storms off the peaks of the hills. We get a nice tailwind into West Union, coast at 30mph. It ends all too soon. Grab a bite to eat. Head back out once more as a group, but I can't hang. Legs just can't push hard enough. Drift off to climb hills at 4mph and ride the flats at 10. Climb onto Dove road. First hill up I find a der pulley and its pieces, bet somebody wishes they still had those. I spot someone walking the hill ahead of me as I crest the first climb. Do what I can to catch up but he's riding the downhills and flats faster than I am. When I finally get close I find that it's Skip, fighting the demons of Dove road. Wasn't his pulley then. Walking looked almost appealing at that point, but I figured he'd catch me anyways. I was practically climbing at walking pace anyways. It leveled out a bit and soon enough Skip and Bonsal caught up. Rode with them a bit till it got walking steep again, and idled away in my lowest gear. That was the last I saw of anyone till checkpoint one in Wadena. In the meantime I thought about weather or not I wanted to try to make the cutoff, it was going to be close. In the end I made the cutoff by 5 or six minutes, but it didn't matter, my legs were cooked.

Finally got a chance to sit around and chat with a few folks. A few others rolling in to make the cutoff. Skip and Bonsal rode in, Ben Shockey and the Yazoo group rolled in a bit later. Paul and Cory were shuttled in. Lance Andre had enough fun in the lead group with his shattered thumb, and stayed behind. Lots of cooked legs in the circle.

Somewhere in there I came up with the crazy idea of riding back to Decorah via pave. Three others thought that to be a swell idea as well. Two energetic SS brothers from WI, and the other turned out to be Ari from Chicagoland. Funny who you run into at these things. The ride out of the valley wasn't too bad, but the loong stretch back over to West Union reminded me that I was already cooked and now was becoming overdone. I pulled a little, dropped back on the climbs, and ended up falling off the 8-10mph paceline a couple of times. Burgers at the Barrel drive-in and hot cocoa and a windbreak at Hardees was much appreciated. Even more appreciated was the ride back to Decorah provided by the WI crew.

Back in Decorah I showered off, and banker Steve and I wandered down to Oneata River Cycles to see the happenings and possibly locate a bike for Sunday's TT. Hey, you never want to miss the opportunity to ride Decorah trails. Ron Moffit once again unwisely agreed to loan me his ride. Last time I rode Ron's bike the bars came loose and the rear brake lever failed, during the race. I should have known better. I'm going to owe him money. My knees were still screaming at me Saturday night.

Sunday morning I woke up and headed down to pick up Ron's bike. It seemed kosher, though it did sound like the freewheel slipped alittle when I rode off and the front brake stuck a little. Signed up for the TT, paid. Knees felt a little better. Tried to preride a little of the new section on trail. Went okay going backwards. Watched O'gara slice his side wall on some glass on the trail in the first 20 feet of his preride. Loaned him a phone. Water was running across the trail in a few places. Most of the first mile or so turned out to be unrideable. Had to stop and tighten the seatpost 30ft in. Front brake not only stuck, but also had about 35% of it's normal braking power. I managed to bend a brake lever and almost take myself out on numerous occasions due to lack of traction and control. Soon found my knees to be unhappy with racing a SS uphill, so I walked pretty much every hill. Most everyone who was behind me ended up ahead of me. Finally made it to the grass field, what I would assume to be over halfway through the course. Remounted, tried to ride a little. Snap. Broke the chain. Put the chain in my pocket, more scooter bike practice. Knees weren't letting me climb anyhows. Tried to slow for the switchback coming back into the valley, didn't really happen. Get up, turn the bike around coast to the bottom and hop the tape. Walked the pave back to the finish and DNF-ed my second race of the weekend.

Many thanks to Steve Jones for crewing, driving, funding, providing a place to crash(thanks to Jim), staying sober during crewing hours, putting up with my crap, and letting me nap on the way home.

Thanks to Ron Moffit for being foolish enough to loan me a bike in full knowledge that my karma will kill it.

Thanks to Deke at Oneota River Cycles for making my hobby affordable, dealing with my odd tastes in equipment, putting on kick ass races on great trails, and making me feel like family.

Thanks to all that raced or were involved in TIV4 for being the eclectic group that makes this event the addictive madness that it is.

DG

$68 burger

Look closely.


Bumps.


The Bimbo truck.


Buenos noches amigas.

DG

Charged

Feel the wrath of CREE led conversions, lithium, and caffinated candy.


DIYLED Triple CREE XR-E Q5 Copperhead light.


Crazy bright and crazy cheap, I'm still seeing spots.

DG

Miles of Smiles

Mary's



Shoot'n ladders



Zippity



Slick



Rim Snap

Ok, where can I get a 6" travel 29er? ;)
DG

GRAID

Weee!

DG

Good things

Self sufficiency.


Adaptability.


Durability.



Wool. Wool. Wool.

DG

Signs of sproing

Two rides last weekend. 64miles worth of mock commuting Saturday and 104 miles of South Van Buren county exploration.

Lessons learned:
It takes me two hours to get to work by bike via the 90% gravel low traffic route.
Henry Co pave roads are flat, but their gravels are not.
I like fenders.
Stans Crows don't do ice well, but they roll right along on everything else.
Topofusion is cool.
Swapping in tubes and playing in Stans in below ferezing weather on the side of a gravel road at night... yea, that still sucks.
You can get 20,000 feet of elevation change in 160miles in SE IA.
Riding in the ditch isn't all that bad.
I found the boonies, they're just down the road.




DG

Dirty Randonneur

Is what it is. 300k. 600K



DG

70T130BCD

After having a hard drive crash losing all my chainring CAD and CAM files, and then having a series of floppy discs fail losing my back-ups of said files, I've finally upgraded to a thumb drive. Now to draw up all the other bolt pattern and size variations, consolidate and eliminate all my floppy drive crap....Simpler IS better. Yay for thumb drives.

DG

Onion of Hardship

This multiday winter endurance racing thing is completely crazy. On the surface, it looks hard. Then you peel back its rigid veneer only to find an inner layer of hard. And even as you chip away at its core, you continue to find layer upon layer upon layer of hard. Every part is hard. And I love it." -Jill Homer

This quote pretty well sums it up. Snowbiking. Nutty. And addictive.

So you want to ride your bike 100, 135, 350, 1100miles across some crazy windblown, frighteningly cold, breathtakingly beautiful expanse of snow and ice, eh? Well, lets see. Your gonna be riding on or in deep snow, preferably on. It may or may not be packed by snowmobiles, this may or may not be a good thing. You will likely end up riding across a lake or down a river, there might be ice. There might be open water too, it may or may not be obvious. There might be fresh snow, maybe a whole lot of it. It will likely be drifting. There is always a headwind, maybe headwinds so strong they actually slide you backwards in your tracks. The trail may or may not be marked. It may not really exist, really. You may push your bike more than you ride it, did I mention your bike will weigh at least 50lbs? You are riding a fully loaded expedition bike after all. You will ride or push your bike in all weather conditions in the dark. It might take you five hours to go ten miles. 14mph is scary fast. You may not see another soul for days. You might have to bivy on the trail, but not for long, this is a race ya know. It might be really, really cold, this may or may not be a good thing. You will have to worry about sweating, sweating could kill you, try not to sweat. But keep moving, you have to keep moving to stay warm, stopping could kill you too. You will pray that you have no mechanical issues. Your hydration system may freeze, you may have to stop and melt snow and/or thaw your water bottle out for hydration. There will be checkpoints and dropbags, they may or may not be there when you get there. If you get there. As with all ultra events, there is no payout. Pretty neat, huh? No, it's not dumb, thats a matter of perspective. We're all crazy, some people just embrace life more. Hardships build clarity in life if you accept them as learning experiences.

Anyway, if you haven't confirmed it yet I'm one of those "nuts". If you'd been paying attention you would have known that years ago. As of the moment I'm planning to at least try my hand at the Arrowhead 135 and hopefully a couple other snowbike races of similar ilk next year. The preparation for this started three weeks ago and will likely continue all year long. Who knows maybe I can work an HPV into the snowbike race scene. But first I need to spend a season racing before I get all hairbrained and unleash the mad scientist on it.

There are elements of snowbiking that bring completely new problems into view. What happens when you expose mechanical components to a -20degF or -40degF ambient temp, and then add a -35degf windchill on top of it? How do you keep a lighting system going for 12hours, and multiple days in those temps? How the hell do you keep your hydration system from freezing up? What gear do you pack, and how do you pack it so that doesn't weight a ton, keep the weight bias evenly balanced between the wheels with you onboard, and out of your way when you have to push? This is just a few of the many, many, many questions to be answered. I've learned alot already, but there is so much more to know, and so much of it simply has to be experienced to really find the answers.

That's what draws me in. The challenge. Continuously learning to how to push the limits of gear, overcome conditions physically and mentally, adapting to overcome any challenge no matter how daunting. In the end overcoming challenges like this is empowering, enlightening, and occasionally lends itself to clarifying life as a whole.

More to come,
DG

RIP Sheldon Brown

A sad day for bike nerds everywhere. BSNYC sums it up best.

DG